Futile liquor ban

While the Supreme Court has given its nod to the Oommen Chandy government to make Kerala an alcohol-free state in 10 years, I don’t think the ban will serve any purpose. Prohibition has never worked and strict state control of liquor sales won’t help either.

Banning has become a trend but it is not the solution. Aakar Patel in his article In a liplock with stupidity (December 27) rightly points out that “prohibition has totally corrupted the Gujarat police and criminalised the casual drinker”. Banning alcohol will give rise to black-market sales and boost the sale of taadi, made from fermented palm-tree sap, which is exempt from the ban. Mahua De Via email